KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Kansas State used a strong inside game in the first half to defeat Texas A&M 71-64 in the Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (7-4) were led by Nino Williams with 17 points. Thomas Gipson added 14 points, and Marcus Foster and Wesley Iwundu had 10 each.
Texas A&M (7-3) was led by Kourtney Roberson and Danuel House with 13 points each. Jordan Green had 11 and Alex Caruso 10.
The Wildcats saw their seven-point halftime lead trimmed to five points before an 11-2 run allowed them to put the game on cruise control. A 6-0 run by Texas A&M with just over four minutes remaining cut the lead to 61-54. The Wildcats missed six straight free throws to see the lead reduced to four points a couple of times, but held off the Aggies down the stretch.
Kansas State went inside early and often. After an opening 3-point basket by Justin Edwards, the Wildcats' next nine field goals were inside the paint. It wasn't until 6:16 remained in the first half that the Wildcats scored again from beyond 5 feet. Foster's 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 31-20 lead, the largest of the half.
Even the first six free throws during the opening run were generated by fouls on inside play. In all, 10 of Kansas State's 14 first-half field goals were in the paint. The Wildcats shot a sizzling 82 percent from the field in the first half.
Following Foster's bomb, the Aggies got back in the game with a quick 6-0 run. But the Wildcats responded with their own 6-0 run on a three-point play by Malek Harris and a 3-pointer from Iwundu.
The Aggies hit both of their shots from beyond the 3-point line and three others from just inside the arc in the first half.
